UPDATED: FG Confirms Release Of 76 Abducted Dapchi Students

The Presidency has confirmed the release of 76 out of the 110 abducted students in the early hours of Wednesday

It said the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to all security agencies to do everything possible to secure the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls, abducted February 19, yielded the result.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, signed by  Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture,  Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the 76 are those
who have been documented so far, adding that the release of the abducted students is ongoing.

He said the girls were released around 3 a.m. through “back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country,” and that it was unconditional.

”For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.

”Within the period when the girls were being brought back, operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage
and also that lives were not lost,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

He said the number of the freed girls would be updated after the remaining ones have been documented, especially because the girls were
not handed over to anyone but dropped off in Dapchi.